Monday, March 28, 2011

Dreaming about my WIP

Since today the blog post will go up on Honor’s Code announcing this blog to my former readership, I thought it would be a good idea to post a little bit about my current Work In Progress (hereafter referred to as my WIP).

I started back in October brainstorming ideas. This was supposed to be my NaNoWriMo subject. November came and went with my book unfinished.

I made a file on my computer called “The Idea Box.” Whenever I got an idea for a story, I would put in that file. I have idea for Adult Fiction, Science Fiction, Mystery Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, and a Young Reader/Middle Grade Fiction. Some of my ideas were for characters, others for plots, and others still were themes. Some authors seem drawn to characters. At this point in my writing journey, I seem to be attracted to themes and plots.

I looked over all my ideas. Now this is my first time trying to write a novel. Actually, that’s not true. I tried to start one in College. I never finished it, but I put that as an idea on my idea list. I started another one about 6 or 7 years ago. That one wasn’t finished either, and now lives as another idea on my idea box. But the point of saying all that, is to say that I know this first attempt at a novel will likely not be all that good. I’m a rookie, a freshman. I didn’t want to ‘burn’ a good idea on my first time out, but as I thought about it more, I realized that I must be passionate about the idea or it will never go anywhere.

I settled on one of my Adult Fiction stories. The next step was coming up with a one line description. This would be a sentence to define the overarching story of my novel. Something to be used in polite conversation when someone asks, ‘So what is your story about?” Eventually, it will find it’s way into query letters and maybe one day in the future on the back cover of my book. I can dream can’t I?

My one sentence description is:

A young DBA turns his back on a promising career to pursue his dream of becoming a pastor, but his unconventional approach, and a mistake from his past threaten to keep his dream from ever becoming reality.